West Virginia state lawmaker arrested on sex abuse charges with minor: Feds
The West Virginia House speaker called on Del. David Elliott Pritt to resign.
A West Virginia state delegate was arrested and charged with sex assault Wednesday after federal investigators said he allegedly used social media platforms to entice and sexually engage with a teenage student at the school he taught, according to a federal complaint.
Republican Del. David Elliott Pritt, 36, who was the assistant majority leader, was charged with coercion and enticement of a minor and sexual assault in the third degree following a two-week-long investigation by Homeland Security, according to the criminal complaint. U.S. Marshals took him into custody, the complaint said.
The 15-year-old victim's family contacted law enforcement on July 9 and investigators soon discovered the alleged interactions between the girl and Pritt, who had a second job as a teacher, the criminal complaint said.
Pritt, a married father of four according to his bio on the West Virginia Legislature site, allegedly began communicating with the victim between late 2024 and early 2025. He messaged first through the online game Roblox and then through Snapchat when the alleged victim was an eighth-grade student at the middle school where Pritt taught, the criminal complaint said.
The delegate's Snapchat conversations allegedly became more "personal" with the teen as the school year went on, according to investigators.
"By the end of her eighth-grade year, Pritt had told [the victim] that he loved her," the criminal complaint alleged.
During the summer of 2025, Pritt had allegedly begun sending sexually explicit videos and photos of himself to the victim and asked the minor to do the same, according to investigators.
Pritt began teaching at a West Virginia high school starting in the fall of 2025 and he allegedly asked the victim to come to the school and perform sexual acts, the criminal complaint alleged.
The victim allegedly engaged in the sexual activity in his classroom on "approximately five to 10 occasions," until January, the complaint alleged.
Pritt continued to allegedly communicate with the alleged victim on Snapchat until July, the complaint said. At one point in June, Pritt allegedly asked the minor not to tell anyone about their encounters, according to investigators.
He allegedly told the victim, "the state police show up and take your phone and mine and open up hell in our lives," the criminal complaint said, adding that Pritt allegedly told the victim, "I would lose my entire life."
Pritt, who was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2022 and is up for re-election this fall, is being held in jail, according to court documents. Attorney information was not immediately available.
Representatives for Roblox and Snapchat did not immediately return messages to ABC News for comment on the investigation.
West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw released a statement Wednesday after Pritt's arrest and called on the delegate to resign from office.
"What Elliott Pritt is accused of doing is shocking, disgusting and disappointing in every way. My heart aches for this family, and if any part of these serious allegations are true, the law should be applied in full force," Hanshaw said.
The speaker added that Pritt was removed "from all official roles connected with his service" as a member of the legislature.
"Delegate Pritt deserves the right to defend himself freely and fully in a court of law, but the public and his colleagues deserve more," he said.
Fayette County Schools, which oversees the schools Pritt taught in, told ABC affiliate WCHS Wednesday that it is cooperating with the investigation.
"The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority," it told the station.
